Saturday April 25, 01:36 AM
G7 hails China's crisis actions, pledges support
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The G7 major economies have hailed the contribution of "many countries," including China, in the fight against the global economic crisis and pledged to work toward increasing their clout in international financial institutions.
"Many countries are now playing a major role in the global economy and we welcome their contribution to the collective international effort to promote recovery," Group of Seven finance officials said in a statement following a meeting in Washington.
"We welcome China's continued commitment to move to a more flexible exchange rate, which should lead to continued appreciation of the renminbi in effective terms and help promote more balanced growth in China and in the world economy," the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors said.
The G7 added that they "will work with our international partners to modernize the governance of the international financial institutions in order to enhance their relevance, effectiveness, and legitimacy."
On several occasions, the G7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- have accused China of keeping its currency undervalued in order to boost its exports.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in a January Senate confirmation hearing, reiterated the accusation that China manipulated its currency, raising hackles in Beijing in the first days of President Barack Obama's administration.
Since then, the Treasury has been less harsh on China -- in its latest report on currency manipulators, issued in early April, it named no country.
The United States is in an uncomfortable position with Beijing. The world's largest economy is heavily dependent on Chinese imports and a massive US trade gap with the Asian giant continues to rankle.
In addition, flush with dollars from exports to the US, China became the world's top holder of US Treasury bonds last September, according to official US data.
For this reason, the United States has been urging for some time "more balanced" world growth, in which China's economy would depend more on domestic demand and have a stronger currency.
The People's Bank of China cut the renminbi's peg to the dollar in 2005 and since then has allowed it to appreciate steadily, but under close control.
In recent months, the Chinese government appears to have decided the currency had gone up enough against the dollar as the global crisis saps its key export market.
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